1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multiplication of numbers tool and more particularly pertains to a new educational instrument for numbers for providing students with an educational tool that would be fun and challenging.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of a multiplication of numbers tool is known in the prior art. More specifically, a multiplication of numbers tool heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 1,163,125; U.S. Pat. No. 2,656,618; U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,865; U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,504; U.S. Pat. No. 2,502,238; and U.S. Pat. No. 898,587.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new educational instrument for numbers. The inventive device includes a base member having a top side, a recessed portion in the top side, a first longitudinal slot, a second longitudinal slot, a first longitudinal groove extending from the recessed portion and terminating near a first end of the base member, a second longitudinal groove extending from the recessed portion and terminating near a second end of the base member, a matrix of numbers disposed in the recessed portion, a first cover means slidably disposed in the first longitudinal slot and movable over the recessed portion, and a second cover means slidably disposed in the second longitudinal slot and movable over the recessed portion and over the first cover member.
In these respects, the educational instrument for numbers according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing students with an educational tool that would be fun and challenging.